Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) statistics showed that reported cases of the hemorrhagic disease, confirmed and suspected, stood at 175 with a total of 101 deaths since August.
The agency in a statement yesterday said, “As at today, 19 (including Abuja) states are currently following up contacts or have suspected cases with laboratory results pending or laboratory confirmed cases.”
Deaths were recorded in Abuja, Lagos and 14 other states.
Assuring that the virus had been brought under control, officials have, however, distributed large quantities of drugs, including Ribavirin tablets and bottles of hand sanitizers across the country to tackle the disease.
NCDC said its challenge are logistics support and delayed reporting of cases by states.
The outbreak was only announced in January — months after the first case occurred in August — with subsequent deaths reported in 10 states, including Abuja.
Last year, 12 people died in Nigeria out of 375 infected while in 2012 there were 1,723 cases and 112 deaths, according to the NCDC.
The disease belongs to the same family as Marburg and Ebola, two deadly viruses that lead to infections with fever, vomiting and, in worse case scenarios, hemorrhagic bleeding.
Its name is from the town of Lassa in Borno State where it was first identified in 1969.
Endemic to the region, Lassa fever is asymptomatic in 80 percent of cases but for others it can cause internal bleeding, especially when diagnosed late.
The virus is spread through contact with food or household items contaminated with rats’ urine or faeces or after coming in direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
